THE Royal Flying Doctor Service is revamping its Jandakot Airport headquarters, 26 years after the facility was built. RFDS director of regional services Peter Northover said the not-for-profit organisation’s existing facility was showing signs of wear and tear. Work on the $4.5 million redevelopment started earlier this month, just weeks before Premier Alan Carpenter announced the state government would inject $38.6 million into the RFDS over the next five years. The project is expected to be completed in April 2009. Although the RFDS requested $68 million from the state government, Mr Carpenter said the new funding, announced on July 27, would ensure the charitable organisation could meet demand for its services into the future. Construction company Badge, based in Osborne Park, has started work on the redevelopment, which includes a new patient transfer facility, sleeping quarters for flight crews, conference facilities for medical staff and a central courtyard. “Up to 50 on-site construction jobs will be created during the course of the project, which will ultimately deliver the RFDS a far superior facility in which to treat and transfer patients from around the state,” Badge construction manager John Moore said.